G-20 Facts: Accounts out of Balance

Today is the first day of the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. Because the G-20 nations represent 80 percent of world trade, it makes sense to look at America’s position within it. The above chart shows our trade balances with respect to the G-20 nations; the numbers are below.

What stands out is the size of America’s trade deficit. In 2008, we ran a trade deficit of over $550 billion with G-20 nations (plus another $180 billion with OPEC). We can’t keep this up forever. It’s good in the short-term for our lenders, but it’s bad in the long-term for everyone.

Please keep these numbers in mind as other countries complain about the U.S. on trade. Trade is only fair if it goes both ways.

Private prisons are a cancer. But they fill up because they are there. Companies build them, and people come. No need for pesky voter approved bond financing of public works.

About Eric Lotke

Eric Lotke has cooked in five-star restaurants and flushed every toilet in the Washington D.C. jail. He has filed headline lawsuits and published headline research on crime, prisons, and sex offenses. He was formerly research director at Campaign for America's Future. His latest novel is Making Manna.